


Catch Me if You Can

by nerdzeword



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Adventure, Angst, Community: hptimetravel, F/M, Fluff, HP: EWE, Historical AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-War, Time Travel, Time Turner, dramione - Freeform, shit ton of oc's and historical figures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-08-18 14:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8165402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdzeword/pseuds/nerdzeword
Summary: In which Hermione is a time travelling thief and Draco is in charge of capturing her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This simple fic turned into a giant research project that I can't seem to stop. My apologies to my beta, who has had to listen to me rant about Scots Law for the past six weeks.  
> Thanks to the Mods at HP Time Travel for putting the fest together, I had a lot of fun!

**London, 2002**

Hermione was just so tired of the wizarding world. Well, that's not true. She was so tired of having to fix the wizarding world. You'd think they'd be able to get their shit together after three years of her patient prodding. But no.

And because of their ineptitude, she never got the chance to see the world the way she'd always wanted, ever since she was a little girl. She was just so _tired_ of it all.

After months of careful consideration, she did what she promised herself she would never do again.

 

The time turner was the same as it had always been, despite the fact that she hadn't touched it in nearly seven years. She packed her beaded bag, transfiguring it into something a bit more… flexible. She wasn't planning on being caught because she had forgotten that a time period didn't have glass beads.

 

It had taken her months of research to find the spell that would essentially create an invisible path through time, one she could follow back home without getting lost in the continuum. With a quick casting of the spell and flick of her wrist to spin the time turner, she was off.

 

**London, 1851**

Draco Malfoy didn’t appreciate having to go on a solo mission. Especially not through time. Though he had to admit that the person’s method of escape, and the spell they had used so they could make their return, were rather genius. So much so in fact, that he used their spell himself. After all, it didn’t matter if _he_ had a trail.

He had cursed the day he had ever heard the name of Harry Potter, however, when he realized just where he had landed. Why couldn’t one one of his subordinates come on this mission? Because Harry Fucking Potter decided that this required an ‘expert.’ Nevermind the fact that the whole reason the unspeakable position even existed was because _no one_ was a expert. That’s why it was called the Department of _Mysteries._ Honestly, did the man ever read?

“Oh come on!” He said, noting the Victorian clothing of the people passing by. Luckily for him, he had planned ahead and had chosen to leave from an alleyway between an old church and a building he knew to predate the fire of London at the least. Draco quickly transfigured his robes into something a bit more fitting to the time period, and set off to find his runaway time traveller.

 

Hermione was enjoying herself immensely. She had always wanted to see the Great Exhibition of 1851. She had been to Hyde park on numerous occasions, trying to imagine the giant glass building that had spent the summer there.

Hermione thought she would faint the first time she saw it, far more beautiful than she could ever have imagined. After confounding the guard to get in, Hermione found herself in love. She thought she could spend months in the large building, just exploring the past in a way that no one in her time would ever get the chance to.

That was, until she saw Draco Malfoy.

 

Draco had imagined his time traveller to be a bit like Indiana Jones or- well the wizarding world wasn’t as big on adventure stories as the muggle world, but still. The last person he was expecting to be his elusive time traveller was Hermione ‘booklover’ Granger. Then he thought about it and realized that this was exactly the sort of thing Granger would do. Heaven knew she was always flaunting the rules in school; as only a Gryffindor could ever get away with.

The first thing he noticed after seeing her across the room, was the fact that Granger had broken more ministry rules for this excursion, than he had even known existed. Draco had to wonder what could possibly have tipped the golden girl over the edge enough to send her running into the past for escape.

The second thing he noted was that the Victorian dress she wore fit her exceptionally well. Draco shook the errant thoughts from his head and strode up behind her, resting a hand on her hip so not to alarm the muggles, heaven knew this time period had more rules about who could talk with whom than even pureblood society.

“Hallo there Granger. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Why hello there Draco. I didn’t think they’d send _you_ after little old me. They don’t usually send the head unspeakable of the time room on missions. Or so I'm told.” Draco didn't even stop to wonder how she knew he worked in the time room. She was Hermione Granger, of course she knew. “I suppose you’re here to arrest me then?” She continued, the corner of her mouth tilted upward but she kept her eyes on the display. He could do it, his hand was still on her hip, he could lead her from the room, and back to the future, and their lives there. He really should take her in. But curiosity had always been a weakness of his.

“Now Granger, you shouldn’t put yourself down so much. You did break about a hundred different laws, and completely discarded the statute of secrecy. I feel like that deserves some credit.” He relished in the small grin she gave at that. “Unfortunately, that also means I am going to have to take you in.” Draco wasn’t sure why he was flirting with her, he had taken very little interest in Hermione Granger after the war. They didn’t exactly run in the same circles.

He thought it could have been the new time, or the place, or the fact that she looked damn good in that dress, with her hair pulled back from her face so he could see the intensity of her eyes- which she had just turned to look at him.

“Well Draco, as flattering as that is, I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline your generous offer of incarceration. You see, I have so many places I haven’t seen yet.” Her eyes sparked dangerously, and Draco felt his pulse quicken at the obvious challenge.

“Well then. I fear we are at an impasse. Might I suggest we discuss it further over dinner?” Hermione seemed a bit taken aback, although she recovered quickly.

“I suppose that would be agreeable. I hear there is a lovely little restaurant in the hotel not far from here.” Draco gave her his most stunning smile and kissed her fingertips.

“I will see you at 6:00 then.”

It’s a date.” He struggled to keep his smile cool at her words, before turning to disappear into the crowds. He had a date with Hermione Granger! Take that Potter!

 

Hermione was confused. This was not an experience she had often, and she suddenly remembered why she usually went out of her way to avoid it.

“Well this sucks.” She couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at the thought of going on a date with Draco Malfoy, however. The man may have been a prat, but he was really fit, not to mention the suit and tailcoat. Hermione shook off her encounter with her childhood rival and continued her trek through the Exhibition. She wasn’t quite sure what had come over her, when she had essentially confirmed that the very date-like meeting he had planned was indeed a date. She also wasn’t sure how she felt about the way his eyes lit up at her words, or the way she thought she could see him holding back a grin.

Hermione had never seen him grin before, but if it was as phenomenal as the smile he had given her earlier, she was sure she would melt.

 

Draco made sure he was at the hotel first, Victorian era politics and social customs were something he was all too familiar with, and despite having left it all behind him years ago, he found the knowledge handy for his current situation. Granger may not know it but he was going to end up saving her a lot of heartache, he would have to be sure she thanked him later. He lost his train of thought when he saw her walk through the door however. She was wearing a different dress, one that looked even better on her than the last one. It was a light periwinkle, not unlike the one she wore to the Yule Ball their fourth year, and had sleeves that came off the shoulders to rest on her arms. It wasn’t very fancy by any means, but it accentuated her collar bones in a way that Draco wasn’t sure he had ever seen with her modern clothing.

“Granger.” He greeted her, extending his arm to lead her to the table he had already had prepared.

“Malfoy.”

“Ready for our date?”

“It’s not a date.”

“That’s not what you were saying earlier.”

“Hmm. Do you want it to be a date?”

“Who am I to resist the wiles of a beautiful woman such as yourself?”

“Knock off the drama Malfoy, we both know why you’re here.”

“You wound me Granger, you really do.” Draco pulled out the chair for her to sit after they had made it to their table, and sat down across from her before she brought up the matter at hand.

“So what exactly are we discussing?”

“Why don’t we start with how you knew I was going to be at the Exhibition?” He leveled a ‘what, do I look like an idiot to you?’ look at her.

“As soon as I realized what year it was, I knew exactly where you’d be. Honestly, it doesn’t take a mediwitch to figure it out Granger. How about you? How’d you know which room I work in? Or that I’m head for that matter” She shrugged lightly.

“I know Harry, as soon as he knew what had happened, he would put the most qualified person in charge. Which means you’re the most qualified person.”

“Doesn’t mean much, The whole point of the Department of Mysteries is that no one really knows what they’re doing.” He said dryly. She gave him a small grin.

“Well I never said Harry was particularly _smart._ ” Draco laughed and the waiter gave him a funny look as he took their orders. Draco ignored him and continued their conversation. Hermione Granger was surprisingly easy to talk to. He thought it was a pity that ease didn’t seem to extend to their lives in their own time. They had finished their meal and were walking around the park in amicable chatter when Hermione suddenly stopped, turning to look at him.

“Look Draco,” Draco was beginning to wish she would stop using his first name, every time she said it, it made his heart flutter uncomfortably. “I don’t particularly want to be caught, and you don’t seem too inclined to want to catch me, if this date is anything to go by. So let’s cut to the chase.” She leaned forward until they nearly touched, with a dangerous smirk playing on her lips.

“Wanna play a game?” he smirked back, caught up in the fire that had sparked in her eyes.

“What kind of game are we talking here?” she leaned forward and brushing her lips across his cheek, whispered in his ear.

“Catch me if you can.” There was a small crack of apparition, and she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FAQ:  
> Q: Will there be more?  
> A: Yes, this will have more! but it will probably be a while in between chapters. Time travel requires a lot of research and since no one seems to care enough about travel times from the Netherlands to France via carriage to post them on the internet, it takes a while.  
> Not to mention I still go to college full time. 
> 
> Q: When does she become a thief?  
> A: Patience my young Padawan.
> 
> That's it actually, those are the only questions I've gotten. 
> 
> If there are any other questions you have, please ask, I'd be happy to elaborate, whether in the story or outside. If you have any notes on time periods or historical people that I may mention, or facts you'd like to correct, please do! My research can only go so far and I'd like this story to be as accurate as possible.
> 
> You can contact me here or on my blog, which is where I have also posted some of the pictures I've drawn of the characters in period clothing etc. (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com/tagged/catch me if you can)


	2. Chapter 2

**Somewhere in the English Channel, 1730**

The problem with apparition, Hermione decided, was that it had an awful lot of limitations. You can’t apparate overseas (at least not easily) and you can’t apparate somewhere you have never been (unless of course you are spectacular at visualizing places you’ve never been. Hermione was not.) Not to mention the whole ‘if you mess up, you get splinched and possibly die’ thing. Hermione didn’t appreciate restrictions. Not to mention the 18th century was not the greatest in terms of travel.  

Which was why she was now on a passenger ship, headed towards Antwerp, where she would take a carriage to Brussels; and her next destination. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout. She turned to find a rather disgruntled Draco Malfoy climbing aboard the starboard side. She briefly wondered how he had figured out where she was, then she remembered that she could just ask him.

“Draco.” He looked up from the sailor he was talking to. Some emotion that Hermione couldn’t discern flashed in his eyes before he took her hand and kissed it lightly.

“Hermione.” That was new. She didn’t think she had ever heard him call her by her first name before.  “It seems I’ve won.”

“Not so fast mister. Do you really want to go back now, while we’re floating over the Channel?” he smirked. 

“And what’s stopping me from arresting you once we reach- wherever it is we’re going.”

“Antwerp. And maybe the fact that you’d have to arrange a way back from the modern day, which would require all sorts of paperwork.”

“Ah. So it seems you’ve found my weakness.”

“Wasn’t hard. It’s the same as mine.”

“Sir?” They were interrupted by the sailor. “You know this woman?” Draco glanced at her before speaking. 

“But of course! Might I present my wife, Miss Hermione Malfoy?” Hermione wasn’t sure what the feeling was that accompanied his words, but she opted to think about it later, choosing instead to curtsy at the befuddled sailor, who was no doubt wondering why they didn’t arrive together. Hermione sent a quick confounding charm his way and he scurried off.  

“That was very illegal.” Draco looked more amused than anything

“Add it to my list.”

“Bet on it.”

“You realize that we’ll have to share a cabin now right? It would have been easier for you to say you were my brother or something.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m not sure you and I share the same definition of fun.” he just grinned and offered her an arm.

“My lady.” Hermione rolled her eyes, but took his arm anyway.

 

Draco didn’t think he had ever been more amused in his life. Hermione Granger had always seemed to him a very stoic sort of person. Practical, down to earth, not one to let trivial things to get in her way. What he discovered during the three day trip to the mainland, was that she had complaints about everything. Especially clothing.

“Ugh! I hate corsets. HATE THEM!” She shrieked and Draco had to hide his laughter. A few years ago he would have been laughing at his counterpart’s discomfort. Now he just laughed about how she dealt with the discomfort. Namely by laying on the bed in only her undergarments, wallowing in self pity. 

“Don’t laugh Draco! I’d like to see you wear miles of fabric on top of having all of your internal organs squeezed to the point of bursting. It’s not pleasant!” 

“I’m sure it’s not.” He replied, half mockingly. She harrumphed at him, then sat up and turned around.

“Make yourself useful and tighten the laces. I can’t reach.” Draco wasn’t really sure why he was succumbing to her whims, he could have said ‘no fuck you’ and gone in search of more interesting pursuits. But instead he found himself pushing her outrageous hair from her back, and wondering at how soft it was. Then he was distracted by the little freckles on her shoulders. He was counting them absentmindedly, while pulling on the laces that held the back of the corset together; accidentally pulling a bit too tight and making Hermione let out a little gasp of pain. Draco loosened his grip immediately and finished tying the strings into a neat little bow. 

“Thanks.” She muttered, unsuccessfully trying to hide her red face behind her hair. Draco thought it might have just occurred to her how suggestive her request could be taken. He escaped so he could grapple with the unpleasantly blissful thoughts that now filled his thoughts. This little excursion was doing a number on his psyche. 

 

Hermione wasn’t aware just how grateful she would be for Draco’s presence in her travels. When they arrived in Antwerp, Hermione found herself hopelessly lost. Apparently not as many people spoke English in the 18th century Belgium, as they did in the 21st century. Luckily for them both, Draco spoke a little bit of Dutch. It was a bastard version of what they spoke, but it was enough to get them on a carriage to Brussels. 

To Hermione’s delight and annoyance, Draco didn’t stop asking her questions the entire ride. On one hand, she was pleased with the chance to share her knowledge with someone who might actually care, rather than just appeasing her. On the other hand… he asked a lot of questions.

What irked her the most were the questions about her plans. What were they doing in Brussels? What were her future plans? Why were they travelling by carriage rather than just apparating? It was after that one that Hermione had had enough. 

“You will figure it out when we get there!” She finally snapped at him, looking back at her book. The book was one she had stashed in her bag, on the off chance it could come in handy later. It turned out she was right, not even halfway through, she found a translation spell and was trying to memorise the concepts, so she could try it out before they arrived in Brussels. The only problem was that the book didn’t mention whether or not the spell went both ways. Which was exactly why she needed to focus. Draco ignored her protests and continued to shower her with questions about the time period and Brussels. 

It took longer than she liked, but eventually Hermione felt confident in the theory to try out the spell. 

“Verto Sermotis” She annunciated, pointing her wand at herself. She didn’t feel anything different, but there was only one way to figure out if it worked. 

“Draco. Say something in another language.” He stared at her, then spoke in French. Hermione sighed in frustration when she realized that she was still hearing the French. She was only a little annoyed at the unsavory things Draco said about her hair. It occurred to her that her problem could be stemming from the fact that she  _ did  _ already know what he was saying. “A language I am not already semi-fluent in, if you would.” The next time he spoke, it sounded like one of those voice overs in documentaries. She could still hear the original language, but even louder was Draco’s voice overlaid in English.

“Weird.” She said. Draco blinked at her.

“You just spoke Russian.”

“Did I? Well that answers that question then.” She told him. Draco moved to sit beside her and read the book over her shoulder. 

“Translation spell. Smart. I take it the spell works two ways then?”

“Indeed. Do you want me to try it on you as well?”

“If you would. My Dutch is less than stellar.” Hermione moved to his now vacant seat and pointed her wand at him, speaking the spell once again. 

“I only know French and English, so you won’t be able to test the spell until we arrive.” She warned him. He only nodded. Hermione went back to reading her book, in search of more useful spells. It was another three hours before they arrived in Brussels, and Hermione found herself with a dilemma. Her goal was to visit the Palace of Coudenberg before the fire that would be its ultimate destruction broke out. The problem was, during this time period, women had little to no respect, unless you were a middle class land owner. (And even then it was a very limited respect.) But if she wanted to get into the palace, she would have to be a noble of some sort, which would mean having to pretend to be a brainless floozie for a long period of time. Hermione was not an actress, she could not act, so playing the part of a socialite for any length of time would be difficult. Unless. 

Hermione’s head shot up to look at Draco. That could work, yes. She pulled a book from her bag and flipped to the page she required. Draco looked up as she pointed her wand at him again. 

“What are you-” Hermione transfigured his clothing into something a bit fancier than the generic peasant's clothes that he had been dressed in before. She gave him an embroidered coat and a thick vest to go with his trousers. She also changed his shoes, adding a bit more of a heel. His hair was too short to be curled, and she had no idea how to even begin powdering it, but he looked sufficiently nobel. Maybe she could pass off his unpowdered hair as the latest trend from England. 

“If anyone asks, you are a nobleman from England-”

“Granger, I  _ am  _ a nobleman from England.” She shot him a withering look and continued talking. 

“You are a nobleman who is in Brussels to negotiate a trade between the two powers. Your ship was attacked by pirates on the trip across the channel, and you and I are the only ones who survived the trip.”

“Who are you then.”

“I am your servant, but through our ordeal, we have become quite close. Hopefully, that will keep any of the other nobles from trying anything. You are going to offer my services to the Archduchess for the duration of the trip. Any other questions?”

“Um. Yes. I don’t know enough about this time period to even begin pretending to be on a diplomatic mission. You are going to have to find another cover story.” Hermione let out a huff of air and picked her wand back up. 

“If you insist, but you’re not going to like it.” She talked as she transfigured his clothes once again. “You and I are married, as we have been this entire trip. We just recently lost our entire field to frost and thus our livelihoods. You have a military background, and have recently been stationed as a grenadier of the royal guard. I am looking for work in the palace.” 

“So I’m a common foot soldier then.” Draco stated.

“No. You’re a grenadier, that’s important, it will raise your station, and hopefully give us an in at the palace.”

“Got it. Why do we want in at the Palace?” he asked.

“You’ll see when we get there.” Hermione pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag, suddenly glad that the wizarding world was so out of date. In her best cursive handwriting, she began to script a letter of recommendation from a Captain in the guard at the Royal Palace of the Austrian Netherlands. 

She managed to give it a wax seal with her wand, and handed the letter to Draco just as they reached the gates of the palace. Hermione gathered all of the various books she had pulled out, and put them back into the safety of her bag. Her wand was shoved down the front of her corset, to Draco’s amusement.  Hermione took a deep breath to steady herself as she stepped out of the carriage, it was go time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel like I should give some background here. So during the 1700's the Netherlands and Belgium didn't really exist. They were a part of a little something called the Austrian Netherlands. Which were in turn a part of the greater Holy Roman Empire. It is surprisingly hard to find any sort of information on the time period in that general vicinity, partly because the Austrian Netherlands worked separately from the Holy Roman Empire, and partly because the time period was so tremulous that not very much information really exists. There is, however, a lot of information on places like England and Italy. It is also very hard to find information on things such as how long it takes to cross the english channel during the 18th century. So yay. Feel free to correct me if you find any misinformation.


	3. Chapter 3

 

**Brussels, 1730**

 

It was a lot easier to gain employment in the palace than Hermione was anticipating. Apparently good grenadiers were in short supply, so they were all too willing to comply with Hermione’s request to work in the palace with her ‘husband.’ It was, as it turned out, perfect timing, as the ladies maid for the Governess’ quarters had just recently married and could no longer work. All of the other maids had been serving the Mistress in the meantime, but because of protocol, there really was only supposed to be one. 

After meeting with the Steward, they were lead to the main building, and Hermione had to bite her lip in order to keep herself from spouting off history facts, and comments about all of the architecture. Draco noticed and sent her a knowing look that made her want to slap him. They were led through the halls until she was completely lost. They eventually stopped in a small receiving room, and Hermione nearly screamed when she saw what was obviously a Rubens painting hanging on the wall. The servant who was leading them noticed her expression and spoke for the first time. 

“You like it? It was commissioned from a man named Rubens.” Hermione nodded and inspected the painting with something close to love. 

“It’s very beautiful.”

“If you like nude men obviously.” Draco commented sardonically. Hermione sent him an annoyed  glance and continued to study the painting in awe. The servant smiled at her slightly. 

“We should be going. Come along.” After the run in with the Rubens painting, the servant was much more amiable, stopping occasionally to point out various objects or corridors of interest. They discovered his name was Stephen, and that he was from Utrecht, but he refused to answer any other personal questions.  He led them to a room in what Hermione assumed was in the servant’s quarters, and gestured at the door.

“This will be your quarters. I’ll let the two of you get settled and return to lead you to your duties in the morning.” they nodded to him in thanks before he wandered off.

 

Draco and Hermione settled into their temporary lives as Hermione and Draco Capellini, relatively quickly. It turned out that Grenadiers were chosen based on their physical strength and large bodies. Which meant that because of Draco’s lean frame, he found himself having to engage in many arm wrestling matches to prove his worth throughout the first few weeks. Soon, however, the rest of the men had grown to respect his position, and he only found himself in arm wrestling competitions for fun.

He still never lost a single one.

Hermione however, grew quite fond of the Governess. Marie-Elizabeth was not what one would expect of a female leader in the early days before feminism. She was brash, bold and an absolutely fabulous governess, having taken her studies as a child quite seriously; and Hermione thought that the modern ministry of magic would do good to learn from her leadership. It was no surprise that she was one of the most respected and feared monarchs in Brussels. 

Honestly, Hermione suspected that the people of Brussels may have respected her more than her brother, Charles VI, who, as Holy Roman Emperor, technically held more power. Hermione grew to love the opinionated and outlandish Governess, and would often have political debates with the strong willed woman, as she helped her with her daily tasks. The largest of these tasks was helping her into one of the many garish dresses that the Duchess had to wear. Hoop and all. 

Hermione was glad she was parading around as a poor maid, because the skirts really were quite ridiculous. Marie-Elizabeth charmed her with all sorts of stories about how she chased off her many suitors, as a girl. As well as tales of how she continued to drive her brother’s associates in Vienna to madness with her opinions. She confided in Hermione that thought that her brother may have given her rule over the small Duchy in order to keep her and her opinions out of his hair. She also mentioned that she sometimes sent them letters detailing her opinions, just to keep them on their toes. 

 

“So why are we still here?” Draco asked her one day while he was lying on the bed they had to share for their ruse, tossing around a stitch he had apparently found in Hermione’s bag. They had been there for a about two weeks and yet Hermione still didn’t seem very inclined to move on.

“I think the fire was set on purpose. I want to find out for sure.” Draco shot up.

“What fire?” Hermione stared at him.

“You didn’t think we came here at this specific time because I was avoiding the present did you?” His silence told her that was exactly what he had thought. “I came here at this time because at this moment the Palace is at its height. It is packed full of beautiful things and unbelieveable artistic treasures. On February 3rd, 1731, this entire palace is going to go up in flames. Bringing all of the treasures down with it. I want to know why.” he laid back down

“Well then. Was that so hard? Why couldn’t you just tell me that on the trip here?” She shot him a grin.

“What would be the fun in that?”

 

Before they knew it, it was Christmas, and Draco and Hermione found themselves with a half a day to themselves. Hermione set a small gift, wrapped in some of the Marie-Elizabeth’s trashed stationary, on the desk in front of where he was reading one of her books. 

“What’s this?” He asked her, surprised.

“A thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me, for being my friend. Without you, this trip would have been much worse, and I would have probably been in a lot of trouble a long time ago.” Draco blinked in surprise, and looked up at her.

“We’re friends?”

“Aren’t we?”

“Well, if you want to be. I wasn’t sure  _ you _ would want to be, since I’m trying to bring you in and all.” She smiled at him.

“Of course I want to be your friend Draco!” She gave him her sunniest smile and Draco felt warm all over, despite the frigid temperature outside. He thought that he might just do anything, if it meant she would smile at him like that again. “Go on! Open the gift!” She shoved his shoulder, and Draco felt as if there was a fire spreading out from the place she had touched him. That didn’t bode well for his mental state, but he shelved the feeling and pulled open Hermione’s careful wrapping to find a small wooden penny whistle. 

“I know it’s not a piano, but I figured it’s something.” Draco just stared at it in awe. 

“Did you make this?” Hermione blushed 

“I found some old woodworking spells.” He played a few notes on it, and Hermione clapped her hands in glee that it actually played properly. It always just squeaked when she tried. 

“Thank you Hermione.” He said, still inspecting the little instrument. 

“You’re welcome Draco. Happy Christmas.” He smiled

“Happy Christmas.”

 

**Brussels, 1731**

 

The new year brought more questions to the pair than it did answers. They had become comfortable, if not friendly with all of the palace staff, and Stephen, the doorman they had met on their first day, was becoming more and more moody. Hermione caught him ducking in and out of corners, and wandering the castle late at night. Draco thought he might be the one to set the fire, and told Hermione so repeatedly. She disagreed. She didn’t think that sweet Stephen was capable of setting a fire, so it had to be something else. 

They cornered him in the library one day in between tasks. 

“Stephen.” He jumped and swivelled to face them. But not before Hermione had gotten a glimpse of the book he was holding.

“Oh. Draco. Hermione. Hi.” Hermione leaned against one of the shelves. 

“You know, the muggles might seem less suspicious if you glamoured the covers of your reading material.” His eyes widened almost comically, and Draco had to grab hold of his arm before the startled man could apparate. Hermione rolled her eyes. “Calm down Stephen. We’re not going to turn you into whatever wizarding parliament is running this part of the world right now. We just want to know what happened. Why are you so skittish?” He blinked at them.

“Who are you people?” Hermione waved off his question as if it were a minor annoyance. 

“Never mind that Stephen. Who are you. And why are you here?” She slid her wand from her bodice and threw up a few muggle repelling and muffliato spells. Draco conjured a chair for the three of them with his own wand. Stephen looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Well, go on and take a seat there Steve. I have a feeling we’re going to be here a while. Might as well get comfortable.” Draco told him with his signature smirk. Hermione just nodded for him to start speaking.

“It all started back in April. I was at a meeting. In the ruins of the Dom Church's Nave. We’d been meeting there for months, and it was great. I finally felt like I had somewhere where I could  _ belong _ you know? Like there were finally people who understood what I was going through. Who understood  _ me. _ ”

“A group for wizards?” Hermione asked kindly. He shook his head.

“No. A group for...well sodomites I suppose.” Draco and Hermione looked at one another in surprise, and Hermione suddenly had a sinking feeling that she knew where his story was going.

“We were the largest group any of us had ever heard of, and we even had our own little network connecting us to other towns. It was great. Until it wasn’t. Somehow, someone found out and ratted us out. They ordered an investigation. No one was safe. None of us are to this day. I escaped the trials that have now killed hundreds of my friends and kinsmen. And despite my guilt for having escaped the trials, I’m still not safe, because before I left, I tried to save a couple of my friends. A simple confundus charm. Nothing major. Nothing noticeable. But now, on top of having muggles after me, I also have the wizarding government. So excuse me if I’m a bit nervous.” Hermione patted his hand. 

“A word of advice for you Stephen. The best way to get off the grid, is to die.” She stood up and started removing the wards.

“What? What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, you’ll understand soon enough. You know, fires are an excellent way to die, or so I’ve heard. They say the only things that survive are metal.” Draco vanished his chairs and tipped an invisible hat at the man with a wink.

“I would listen to the lady if I were you. She’s supposed to be the brightest witch of our age. Well, my age anyway.” Then he followed Hermione from the library, leaving a very confused Stephen sitting on the floor where he had landed when the chair vanished. 

“What?”

 

“Great. Now we’re back to square one.” Draco said, flopping back onto the bed in their room. Hermione fell onto the bed next to him and sighed. 

“That poor man.” Draco snorted. 

“I never pegged him for a poof.” Hermione slapped his chest.

“Draco, that was offensive.”

“What? No it-” He stopped when Hermione turned her head to glare at him. “Okay maybe it was a little offensive. But still.” Hermione sighed wistfully again. 

“I hope he finds happiness anyway. We’ve planted the seed, that’s all we can really do to help him right now.” Draco found her hand and squeezed it. 

“He’ll be fine Hermione. You’ll see.”

 

The weeks past, and Hermione had all but given up trying to figure out who set the fire. She and Draco had grown closer than ever, often spending the long hours after work talking about their lives back home. What it was like growing up as a muggle vs. a wizard. What might have happened if they had become friends before. After several weeks, Hermione knew with absolute certainty that Draco was now one of her best friends. She had the strangest feeling of acceptance, almost as if she just knew that Draco would always be there, no matter how far her other friends drifted, as they had already begun to do.  

When the day of the fire came, Hermione barely even noticed. She thought it strange that the day of a fire that would have so much impact on so many different people’s lives, would start out so completely normal. 

All day, she was on edge, keeping an eye on everyone she passed, any one of them could be the one to have set the fire. The few times she passed Draco that day, she knew he was doing the same. By the time that night came, she was nearly bursting with pent up frustration. Which was probably why she didn’t notice the candle that the Governess had placed too close to the curtains. Not until she smelled the smoke and noticed the glow coming from underneath the the doorframe of the attached sitting room. 

 

Hermione had never felt more stupid in her life. Luckily for her, she was good at keeping a cool head under pressure. Hermione shot streams of water at the fire, but it did no good, as the water just evaporated before reaching the flames. She threw a bubble head charm around her head, and the head of the sleeping Governess, and prayed someone else would reach them in time.

 

Draco was beginning to wonder where Hermione was. She was supposed to have met him ten minutes before, but he had been running late. Now it was five minutes later, and there was still no sign of his wayward travel partner. He found that odd, as Hermione was usually early. Not the other way around. Maybe she had gotten held up?

 

Hermione kept shooting spells at the flames in an effort to extinguish them. Her bubble head charm was wearing thin as well. There was no way she would be able to keep up the rate she was going, not when she had the Governess to protect as well. Hermione let a few tears of frustration slip down her face. She was going to die here. She just knew she was. She had read all about the fire. It was going to destroy this beautiful palace, and her in it. She would never be able to get herself and the Governess out of the door, not without removing one of the spells she already had going, both of which were necessary for their survival. She would have thought that someone would have arrived to help by now, but there was no one yet. For once in her life, Hermione had no idea what to do.

 

Draco was frantic, Hermione was supposed to have met him over half an hour ago. Where was she? He hated to think about how fond he had become of his brunette counterpart, but it was true. He didn’t know what to do without her. 

“Fire! Fire in the Governor's quarters!” Someone shouted. Draco was off in an instant, a strange sort of foreboding gathering in his gut. Hermione had said the fire was started in the kitchens. But what if they were wrong? What if they didn’t start there at all? The Governor's quarters were just above the kitchens. They were also where Hermione worked. Draco prayed to whoever, whatever was listening while he ran.  _ Please let her be alright.  _

When he arrived at the doors of the Governor's quarters, he found an entire group gathered, including some people from town. 

“What’s going on? Why is noone going in?” Draco asked

“Protocol! We can’t go into the chambers, it’s forbidden.” Draco growled in frustration. He didn’t have  _ time _ for this! Hermione was probably in there, being her usual stupid and incredibly brave self, trying to save everyone, and these people were just  _ sitting there. _ Draco shoved passed them all.

“I don’t give a damn about protocol, my  _ wife  _ is in there!” He stated, pushing the doors open with all the strength he could muster. And possibly a little bit of wandless magic as well. He looked around the room and saw Hermione standing in the middle, shooting streams of water at the fire that was burning quickly towards them. The Governess was laying on the floor at her feet. Draco ran over and picked up the unconscious woman and noticed that Hermione had put a bubble head charm on her, as well as herself. Draco found himself once again in awe of his beautiful travel partner. He ran towards the exit, beaconing Hermione as he went. She nodded at him and Draco felt a rush of hot air as she dropped the spell she was using, and ran after him. As soon as they were out of the room, she dropped the bubble head charm as well. 

They couldn’t risk anyone else finding out about magic. Not when they weren’t going to be sticking around to fix it. When they reached the courtyard, Draco handed the unconscious Governess to one of the stewards and stopped to catch his breath. He turned to look at Hermione, who was doing the same. He had the strangest compulsion to kiss her. Actually, the compulsion wasn’t new. It was all he could think about for the last three months. What was new, was the fact that he was actually willing to do it now. He had almost lost her today, and it scared the hell out of him. He wanted to kiss her, if only to remind himself that she was alive and real. He did the next best thing and pulled her into his arms, clinging to her like a lifeline. 

 

Hermione was in shock. She had nearly died. Granted, that wasn’t exactly a  _ new  _ thing, it was still shocking to say the least. Then, even more startling was the fact that after they had made it out of the room, Draco had hugged her.  _ Draco Malfoy  _ had voluntarily given her a hug. It wasn’t one of those weak and awkward hugs either. It was a full blown, bone crushing, heart warming, life giving, comfort hug, and Hermione nearly wanted to cry at its sincerity. She squeezed back and let herself break down in his arms.

She didn’t know what she would have done on this trip without him. She had thought she was dead for sure when she had started running out of energy, then Draco had arrived, slamming open the door and running to her aid without a second’s thought. She was jolted out of her reverie, and out of Draco’s arms, by a shout. 

“We should go.” He said, as they were pushed back by a wave of people trying to escape the blaze. Hermione stared at the wall of fire that had erupted behind them and felt like her lungs were going to collapse. All of that art. All of that  _ history. _ Gone. She pulled her hand from his and ran towards the still untouched main building. There was still something she could do. 

“Granger? Hermione. Hermione!” Draco ran after her “Where are you going!” He yelled at her. 

“To do what I can!” She called back over her shoulder. Hermione slid around the corner of the open doorway and booked it towards the Great Hall, where all of the art was hung. Draco followed her around the corner and apparently figured out what she we trying to do.

“Hermione. You can’t. What happened to ‘we can’t alter history?’” She stopped and turned to face him, heart racing. 

“These pieces are all going to burn in the next hour.  _ Centuries  _ of history are going to be lost Draco. The least I can do is try to save them for future generations.” Draco stared at her, unease playing across his face.

“Where do we start?” He asked. Hermione threw her arms around him in glee, then took off running. She had time to figure out her errant feelings later. She had some art to save. 

 

Draco was getting really tired of having Hermione show him physical affection, then run off. It was really starting to mess with his self esteem. Hermione would tell him that was good for him. Draco had to disagree. He was a Malfoy. Malfoy’s didn’t have self esteem issues. But then again, Malfoy’s also didn’t fancy muggleborns, and so far he wasn’t doing so good a job of that one. 

Merlin, she was a pain. He was supposed to take her back to the ministry. He was supposed to take her in and arrest her for messing with the timeline. It was his job. But then again, Hermione was different. Hermione believed in time, in history. She could have gone anywhere, changed anything, but she chose instead to simply observe. She chose to witness the history that no one else ever could again. And despite himself, Draco admired her for that. 

It didn’t make her any less annoying. 

He followed her into the Great Hall and followed her lead in pulling all of the art from the walls. After they had a pile going, she stopped and started shoving them all into her magical bag. Draco continued collecting the paintings and putting them into the pile. Hermione shoved the last painting in the bag as they heard the crackle of the fire outside the door. 

“Time to go.” Draco dragged her to the exit. 

“Wait!” Hermione pulled herself from his grasp and ran to the other end of the room. 

“Hermione!” The fire was licking at the door frame now and Draco was suddenly sure that they were both going to die there. He ran after her anyway. If they survived this, he was going to strangle her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Governess is a real person, granted a very enigmatic one. She was said to have a maid she was quite close with, which is who I have made Hermione in this situation. As Draco mentioned, the fire was supposed to have been started in the kitchens, which is actually what the Wikipedia page still says. However if you read about it on the Palace of Coudenberg website, it was actually started in the Governess’s rooms after she neglected to blow out a candle. The townspeople and palace workers actually changed the story in order to protect the Governess and her maid. There is no information on why they felt the need to cover up her involvement, especially as it was an accident. I took a bit of artistic liberty in creating her personality in order to explain the need to cover up her involvement. I have also taken some artistic liberty with making Draco the grenadier who opened the door when no one else would. He was a real person as well. Go look it up, it’s actually pretty fascinating.
> 
> Stephen is not a real person, but the witch hunts that took place in Utrecht were a real thing. Townships all over Holland and the Dutch Republic took part in a system of manhunts throughout the year 1730, in which they captured and killed hundreds of homosexuals. Over 40 were killed in Utrecht alone.

**Author's Note:**

> FAQ:  
> Q: Will there be more?  
> A: Yes, this will have more! but it will probably be a while in between chapters. Time travel requires a lot of research and since no one seems to care enough about travel times from the Netherlands to France via carriage to post them on the internet, it takes a while.  
> Not to mention I still go to college full time. 
> 
> Q: When does she become a thief?  
> A: Patience my young Padawan.
> 
> That's it actually, those are the only questions I've gotten. 
> 
> If there are any other questions you have, please ask, I'd be happy to elaborate, whether in the story or outside. If you have any notes on time periods or historical people that I may mention, or facts you'd like to correct, please do! My research can only go so far and I'd like this story to be as accurate as possible.
> 
> You can contact me here or on my blog, which is where I have also posted some of the pictures I've drawn of the characters in period clothing etc. (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com/tagged/catch me if you can)


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